www.metalbrothers.es

martes, 1 de marzo de 2016

Interview with BEEHOOVER

Beehoover is
releasing their new album “Primitive Powers”, probably their most brutal
delivery till date. But it’s more than that, in fact, it’s quite difficult to
believe they can do all they do with just drums, bass and their voices. Here
they are and they sound so fresh that it is a good chance to talk to them right
now.

Hello Claus, in
february, 26 you will have in the streets your new album "Primitive
Powers". For those who don’t know, for sure only a few freaks, what are we
going to find on it?

Eight songs we think are among the best we've ever written,
altogether forming an album that is homogenic, powerful, eclectic and groovy.

According to Slam
magazine, Beehoover isthe “most brute
mini orchestra in the world”. What do you have to say about that?

It's a very nice compliment. Because “brute“ means that we
seem to be able to produce quite a bit of noise with only two instruments,
whereas “orchestra“ may point out that we have to offer quite a bit of variety
and complexity.

However, we don't want to make a fuss about us being a two
piece. It's nothing special nowadays anyway. It's just that many people
probably don't really know what can be done with bass and drums.

I love the cover art
of “Primitive Powers”, how did you get the idea and what were you trying to
express?

Finding the appropriate artwork is always difficult. Since
Concrete Catalyst we were lucky to have found artists that were happy to make
their works avialable for us. This time we used collages made by a Dutch and an
American artist.

“Primitive powers” is a line of the song “Tickling the
Dragon's Tail”, which is the name of an experiment carried out by nuclear
scientists in the 1940s. It was a very dangerous experiment, however safetey
precautions were neglected and in the end something went wrong and some
scientists died from radiation. We think this shows how arrogant human beings
can be. The cover artwork may give some space for interpretation as well.

Sure, I suppose that
cover has a lot to do with the lyrics in the album, right?

The album covers topics like domination, aggression and
suppression on one and those like hope, despair and disappointment on the other
side. I would say the cover clearly shows the ugly side of things.

To my ears your music
has a 90’s style...

This is interesting because doing an interview with the
German Rock Hard magazine we were asked if we're still stuck in the 90s as we
named bands like Primus, No Means No, Tool, Ninewood and such as possible
influences. Since we can't play any different from how we do anyway it's very
well possible you're right.

How was the
composition of the “Primitive Powers”?

We live quite a bit away from each other so we met every
other weekend over a couple of months. Mostly Ingmar comes up with riffs that
we work on. We record them, share them online, listen to them again and again,
combine them with others or may throw them away and so on until songs emerge.
This means we always work on all songs at the same time. Our way of working may
seem a bit chaotic for outsiders but it suits both of us perfectly well.

Beehoover is Ingmar
Petersen and Claus-Peter Hamisch, but did you get any kind of cooperation or
contribution from other musicians?

No, it's all done by ourselves and all in a way it can be
reproduced in live situations.

Millwheels Of Being
is my favorite track in the album, it has an awesome Hendrix spirit

Thanks a lot. But I think we have to disappoint you, we've
never really listened to Hendrix so it's probably a coincidence. But we're glad
you like it.

However, Anti Zoo has
a frenetic rhythm that keeps me glued to the speaker, variety is one of your
trade marks or strong points?

We started playing together because we've had the same ideas
about music. We wanted it to be dynamic, elaborating, narrative, sustainable
and something for the brain and heart at the same time. We want our music to be
danceable, yet give you something a bit challenging to discover.

What do you think you will be composing in ten years from now?

It probably won't be that different. Perhaps it will be more
ambient or punk or doom but I'm pretty sure the style will remain about the same.
An album is always a snapshot of your current situation in life, reflecting
into songwriting, sound and lyrics. So we can't really know.

Do you have touring
plans? Anything inSpain?

We try to play as much as possible, which isn't easy with
co-ordinating it with family life, everyday work and the fact that we still do
the booking ourselves. We have some mini tours coming up as well as something a
bit longer later this year, but it won't be Spain I'm afraid. We've thought
about that but it probably won't happen any time soon. Check our website for
more dates to come.

How do you see the
Metal scene right now?

We're probably not the best to ask but we listen to a lot of
compilation CDs from the magazines. The variety is remarkable and offers
something for every taste. However, whenever I listen to some old stuff like
Metal Church or Maiden I'm surprised by how good that sounds. I get the feeling
that on average today's productions sound very similar to each other, trying to
be as bombastic as possible, but lacking dynamics and thus wearing off and
getting boring quickly. Personal opinion of course.